Bank Hacking Was the Work of Iranians, Officials Say

SAN FRANCISCO — The attackers hit one American bank after the next. As in so many previous attacks, dozens of online banking sites slowed, hiccupped or ground to a halt before recovering several minutes later.

But there was something disturbingly different about the wave of online attacks on American banks in recent weeks. Security researchers say that instead of exploiting individual computers, the attackers engineered networks of computers in data centers, transforming the online equivalent of a few yapping Chihuahuas into a pack of fire-breathing Godzillas.

The skill required to carry out attacks on this scale has convinced United States government officials and security researchers that they are the work of Iran, most likely in retaliation for economic sanctions and online attacks by the United States.
“There is no doubt within the U.S. government that Iran is behind these attacks,”

'We endorse the idea of voluntarism; self-responsibility: Family, friends, and churches to solve problems, rather than saying that some monolithic government is going to make you take care of yourself and be a better person. It's a preposterous notion: It never worked, it never will. The government can't make you a better person; it can't make you follow good habits.' - Ron Paul 1988

American officials have not offered any technical evidence to back up their claims, but [...]

This is how brazen they are ...

Just spout any kind of $#@! you please - and the New York Times will be more than happy to regurgitate it for you.

Last edited by Occam's Banana; 01-10-2013 at 08:59 AM.

"A free man must be able to endure it when his fellow men act and live otherwise than he considers proper. He must free himself from the habit, just as soon as something does not please him, of calling for the police." -- Ludwig von Mises, Liberalism (p. 55)

"The evil that a man inflicts on his fellow man injures both - not only the one to whom it is done, but also the one who does it. Nothing corrupts a man so much as being an arm of the law and making men suffer. The lot of the subject is anxiety, a spirit of servility and fawning adulation; but the pharisaical self-righteousness, conceit, and arrogance of the master are no better. [...] The criminal has incurred the penalties of the law, but not the hate and sadism of the judge, the policeman, and the ever lynch-thirsty mob." -- Ludwig von Mises, Liberalism (p. 58) [bold emphasis added]

You know, at this point, it would make more sense to hack into our banks and ADD money rather than take it or just screw things up.

The British did this during the Revolutionary War. They flooded the colonial market with counterfeit Continental currency to further reduce its value. It worked, too. By the end of the war, continental currency was worthless. (One of the reasons the Founders decided that all currency should be based on gold and silver.)

You know it's getting bad when you do more damage by breaking into a bank and putting more money in it.

"And now that the legislators and do-gooders have so futilely inflicted so many systems upon society, may they finally end where they should have begun: May they reject all systems, and try liberty; for liberty is an acknowledgment of faith in God and His works." - Bastiat

"It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere." - Voltaire

You know, at this point, it would make more sense to hack into our banks and ADD money rather than take it or just screw things up.

The British did this during the Revolutionary War. They flooded the colonial market with counterfeit Continental currency to further reduce its value. It worked, too. By the end of the war, continental currency was worthless. (One of the reasons the Founders decided that all currency should be based on gold and silver.)

You know it's getting bad when you do more damage by breaking into a bank and putting more money in it.

I recall something from World War Two about the Germans dumping counterfeit pounds into England - or the British dumping counterfeit deutschmarks into Germany - or maybe it was both.

"A free man must be able to endure it when his fellow men act and live otherwise than he considers proper. He must free himself from the habit, just as soon as something does not please him, of calling for the police." -- Ludwig von Mises, Liberalism (p. 55)

"The evil that a man inflicts on his fellow man injures both - not only the one to whom it is done, but also the one who does it. Nothing corrupts a man so much as being an arm of the law and making men suffer. The lot of the subject is anxiety, a spirit of servility and fawning adulation; but the pharisaical self-righteousness, conceit, and arrogance of the master are no better. [...] The criminal has incurred the penalties of the law, but not the hate and sadism of the judge, the policeman, and the ever lynch-thirsty mob." -- Ludwig von Mises, Liberalism (p. 58) [bold emphasis added]

I recall something from World War Two about the Germans dumping counterfeit pounds into England - or the British dumping counterfeit deutschmarks into Germany - or maybe it was both.

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised. Governments know how fiat money works. You can get more money for the government to spend if you steal the wealth from the citizenry. By increasing the money supply even more, you can wreak havoc on that plan because the money the government is creating becomes instantly worthless.

Cool little trick.

So if you start seeing lots and lots of counterfeit money in the US, you'll know we are in trouble... uh... oh wait...

"And now that the legislators and do-gooders have so futilely inflicted so many systems upon society, may they finally end where they should have begun: May they reject all systems, and try liberty; for liberty is an acknowledgment of faith in God and His works." - Bastiat

"It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere." - Voltaire